Take The Lead
by D-Tepes
Summary: Life and art take turns imitating each other.  Sometimes it takes a dues ex machina to point out the intersections.  The Jackal Spinelli and Film Guy Dillon have a talk.  PostB&W Ball and funeral.  Shades of GQ, heavy handed hints of GSpin.


Title: Take The Lead  
Rating: PG-13 (I guess)  
Author: Drake-Tepes  
Summary: Life and art take turns imitating each other. Sometimes it takes a dues ex machina to point out the intersections. Spinelli gets shown the options for his life.  
Spoilers: Post B&W Ball and Funeral.  
Pairings: shades of GQ, hints of G-Spin  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters mentioned with in this story. They all belong to their legal owners who really don't deserve them, seeing as how they treat them… and who hopefully won't sue me, as I'm making no money from this.  
A/N: As I'm in my corner, listening to Dido's "White Flag" and cursing the IIC the masquerade as GH's PTB, I decided to try and set some happiness on course in my own little land of fanfiction. Welcome to this little strip of land, I "borrowed" it from my time in the Roswell fandom. This is the land of denial, all tricked out to our entire liking. Favorite characters live here, the mob doesn't overshadow everything else and we don't needlessly kill characters for shallow ratings. Denial, ain't it a great place?  
A/N 2: Not fully beta'd, so a new version may be upped that corrects any nausea inducing grammar and/or usage errors.

- - - - -

'It's like nothing's changed except the pain,' Dillon thought to as he sat in Kelly's, sipping coffee and watching Georgie man the register, it was like he'd stepped right back into his old life for a couple of days. It was a nice distraction from the sad occasion that brought him back. Walking through fragments of his past took him out of the pain of losing one of the few people in his life who cared about him without passing any judgments.

It was chance that he was looking up at Georgie when he saw something else familiar. He recognized the smile gracing his ex-wife's lips and lightening her eyes as one he hadn't seen in a long time, a time before Diego and Lulu. For a second, the briefest of moments, he thought that smile was being flashed once more at him. His mind caught up with what he was seeing, and he traced her gaze across the diner. No, the smile that had made Georgie glow wasn't aimed at him. It was aimed at Spinelli.

It took effort on Dillon's part not to choke on his coffee at that realization. He tried to focus on their interactions from where he sat. Spinelli seemed to be flittering about as Dillon remembered him doing. Suddenly Georgie's smile tightened and the light faded a bit at whatever it was that the, it took a second for Dillon to recall the nickname, the Jackal, whatever the Jackal had said. Spinelli continued on heedlessly, apparently so caught up in what he was saying that he didn't catch the subtle shift in Georgie. This went on for a minute or two more, Spinelli and Georgie talking as her shoulders sagged a little and her eyes took on a sad look. Dillon's mental soundtrack filled in Georgie's sigh of resignation. Dillon figured it out right as Spinelli moved away with his ever-present orange soda and barbecue chips. While Dillon had gone away and gotten over his obsession with Lulu... Spinelli hadn't.

Dillon caught Spinelli's eye and waved him to the table he was sitting at. Spinelli set down his laptop, chips and soda and looked nervously at Dillon. "The Jackal wants to express his most heartfelt sympathies for the loss of the Noble Emily. Her passing was truly a greater tragedy than just that of a life but that of one so pure of intentions and full of compassion for others." Spinelli said in his nervous manner.

The pain of what had returned him to Port Charles stabbed quickly at Dillon as Spinelli's kind words unintentionally brought back what he was trying to distract himself from. "Thank you," Dillon said with a nod. 'Really,' Dillon thought to himself, 'what else can you say when someone offers condolences? There isn't really a proper reply.' Dillon mentally shook off those thoughts and focused his mind, as well as his gaze, on Spinelli. "We didn't really get along very well before I left. I want to apologize for that."

"There's no need for apology, the Jackal understands how civility can be strained between possible suitors who wished to earn the hand of Fair Lulu."

"You're still trying to earn her hand?"

"The Jackal shall always be there should she ever open her eyes to the true nature of those of such unworthy stature who so currently have captured her attention."

"Why?" Dillon's question was a simple one. A question he himself faced during his time away from Port Charles.

"The Jackal just wishes the best for the Fair Blonde One and surely compared to-"

Dillon interrupted Spinelli with a wave of his had. "No, that's not what I mean Spinelli. I get that you want her to be happy and have a good guy and that you see yourself, compared to them, as a better choice. That's about her. What about you?"

"The Jackal of course would be most blessed to have-"

"No," Dillon again interrupted. "Do you know what I remember about my time around you and Lulu before I left Port Charles? I remember her enjoying having you as a friend, the same as she did me. But when it came to you Spinelli she always... I don't think she ever did it to hurt you, in fact, knowing her I know she didn't do it to hurt you. But she used you, she took advantage of your feelings. She did it a little with me and Milo as well. Stop," Dillon said as Spinelli obviously gathered himself to dispute what Dillon said.

"Take a moment and think Spinelli. How many times has she come to you with a problem? How many times has she asked for your help? How often does she ignore your advice and do something that gets herself hurt? How often does she just not see the little things that you do for her because she's focusing on the latest bad boy? Just really think for a moment."

Dillon felt truly sorry for Spinelli as could almost see the man analyzing his relationship with the woman he'd put on a pedestal. "She's the girl all the bad guys want," Dillon said softly. Spinelli shook himself out of his thoughts and Dillon actually felt a stab of physical pain at the lost look in the young man's eyes. "In my time in California and on movie sets, I've had time to examine my relationship with Lulu... and I couldn't examine my relationship with her without thinking about you and Milo too. In Cal I found a lot of beautiful blondes with daddy issues and self-destructive behavior." Dillon let that sink in a moment as he took a pull from his now-cool coffee. "We may not be friends, but as one guy who was hung up on Lulu and got through it, to another who isn't quite there yet I thought I'd lend you an ear and give you some advice."

"The Jackal... I appreciate the gesture. I just don't know what you can say to help at this point."

"You know the general story of how Georgie and I ended?"

"Yes, the Faithful Friend and you were split up by external forces and your own growing up and apart."

Dillon nodded to Spinelli, not at the summation of his time with Georgie but at the confirmation of what he thought. Georgie liked a guy who only saw her as a 'Faithful Friend' and that's Spinelli's moniker for her.

"Do you believe in the adage 'life imitates art'? Or vice versa?"

"The Jackal acknowledges that reality and fiction often parallel each other."

"They do, that's one of the reasons I love film as I do. It's a great medium, and it's how I'm going to help you. I'm going to clarify your position in your movie for you."

"What?"

"You're confused about what movie your life is right now. At any given time, one part or another of a person's life is that of a film. It's never just one because there are so many aspects to an individual during every moment of the day, but there are general themes that play out over time and take precedence over others at times. One night you've drank too much and are stumbling around, talking incoherently and making a fool out of yourself. For then, you're a comedy, maybe even a comedy laced with tragedy. There's a gun battle where you're at, which happens all the time here Port Charles, and your life is an action movie. But there are sub-genres to the overall themes. Are you the hero, the sidekick, the villain, the minion or a bystander? I'm going to clear one area of your life up for you."

"Not that the Jackal doesn't appreciate this sentiment, or completely understand what you're saying, but why would you do this?"

"Maybe it's just to help out someone who was where I was once. Maybe it's to make up for something I did. Or maybe I'm just the deus ex machina for your story. The why doesn't matter. Only the results matter here."

Dillon took another swig of his cold coffee and gave Spinelli a chance to reply. After a moment of silence where Spinelli merely looked ahead and apparently thought over what Dillon had said, Dillon spoke up.

"You're under the misconception you're in one of the classic 1980's teen romantic movies. You're the geeky, no offense, best friend to the beautiful girl who keeps going after the stereotypical bad guys in an attempt to reform them. You're there for her after she inevitably has her heart broken, falls into you arms and realizes you're the only one for her and that she loves you. That's the movie you think you're in. Right?"

"The Jackal will admit that the scenario you have set forth rings quite close to his own hopes for his future with the Fair Lulu."

"Exactly. See, it's understandable why you'd think you're in that role. It's close to the one you're actually in. In that scenario Spinelli, you aren't the lead. You're the sidekick who becomes more in the story of Lulu. But that's Lulu's story and not yours. We all need to live our own stories, our own lives. Your life isn't that '80's movie. You're more along the lines of... You're more like 'Lucas.'"

"The Jackal begs your pardon?"

"You're in an '80's teen romance movie, but you're the lead. You have a friend who is much cooler than you who likes you for reasons others don't quite understand. You like a girl who most others would see as being out of your league, no offense. And during all of this, you have a faithful friend who looks at you like you look at the girl you think you want."

"The Faithful Friend?" Spinelli jerked his head around to look where he'd last seen Georgie. She was still behind the counter, now talking to a customer, a scene Spinelli had seen many times before.

"Spinelli," Dillon said, getting the man's attention back on him. "Think about it. I think your movie is where the geeky guy, again no offense intended, sees past what he thinks he wants and realizes what he's had right beside him for awhile."

"But... the Faithful Friend is your formerly-wed."

"Yes, and I ruined that. I was watching her today, thinking about old times and suddenly I saw her smile…" Dillon looked over Spinelli's shoulder and seeing sometime in his past as a wistful smile settled on him. "It was a smile I hadn't seen since... since before a lot of the drama. For a moment I thought she was smiling at me, but I looked again. She was smiling at you Spinelli. It wasn't just any smile, do you understand me? She's a special woman and you don't know how lucky and honored you are that she's giving that smile to you. Why am I helping you Spinelli? The reasons I said before are true enough, but mainly? This isn't me helping you, it's me trying to give Georgie back a smile and a happiness that I took away."

"What should I… What would you suggest the Jackal do?" Spinelli looked confused as suddenly he found himself with more options in his life than he'd ever allowed himself to dream of.

Dillon stood up and slid a couple of dollars under his coffee cup. "My best advice Spinelli? Take a moment, let yourself grow up and make the most important choice you'll ever make. Do you sit back and let others' choices dictate your life or do you step up and be the lead of your own life?" Dillon patted Spinelli's shoulder as he passed, then sent a wave and a smile back at Georgie as he left Kelly's.

Spinelli sat strangely still at the table for a few minutes. His laptop still in standby, his chips unopened and his orange soda approaching room temperature. Finally he stood, almost startling himself in just how quickly he'd made the motion. His nervous nature even more pronounced as he approached the counter behind which stood one Georgie Jones. He watched intently as she looked up at him and smiled. He nearly took a step back as he truly saw for the first time how Georgie looked at him and his nervousness increased. "Is there something else I can get you Spinelli?"

"There is." He paused a moment before shoring up his courage. "The Jackal was wondering if most Kind and Lovely Georgie might like to see a movie with the Jackal tonight. Or tomorrow, really any night if you're interested." Spinelli nervously trailed off. No matter how embarrassed he felt at that moment, how much he wanted to turn away, he simply couldn't take his eyes off of Georgie.

"I'd love to, I mean, of course I'd like to see a movie with my friend and I'm free tonight," came Georgie's reply. Spinelli couldn't help but notice how bright her eyes truly were. "Spinelli? What happened to me being the Faithful Friend?"

"The Jackal gave thought to how best describe you. While you are a faithful friend, a little sister and a dispenser of wisdom the Jackal could not come up with any one title that best suited you. You are kind, you are lovely and most of all you are Georgie which is more than any adjective the Jackal could find for you."

"Oh," Georgie blushed furiously as Spinelli watched. A part of Spinelli both amazed and proud that he could have such an effect on anyone, and both most proud it was Georgie. "I don't know what's playing tonight that we could see, I can grab a paper and check the listings."

"Actually, the Jackal was thinking we might rent a movie and enjoy a movie in relaxation without the sticky floors of a theater."

"That sounds great, what do you have in mind?"

"The Jackal has never seen it, but has heard good things of it. Would the most Kind and Lovely Georgie care to view the movie 'Lucas' with me tonight?"

"I would be most honored to join the Jackal in his viewing of 'Lucas.'"

_the end_


End file.
